Spring is well and truly on its way, and many keen amateur gardeners will be itching to get out in the garden.

March is the month in which your garden should be bursting into a chorus of natural colour with Daffodils, Crocus and Erythronium all in flower.

The longer days present the perfect opportunity to sow seeds for germination later in the year in terms of vegetable seeds you should be planting carrots, parsnips, lettuce, peas, broad beans and turnips.

March is the perfect time to sow a wildflower seed mix. When planting Wildflowers soil preparation is the key to success.

Safety first!

A word of caution! When it comes to weather March can be quite unsettled, and it is not uncommon to see frosts if you are considering planting be sure to check whether the plant is a frost-tender variety.

If you do decide to plant, take precautions. Protect the bed with fleecing or a cloche tunnel to ward off the potential of frost damage and keep pests away to a certain degree.

If your garden has heavy soil now is the time to act digging through heavy soils with organic matter will improve the drainage of the ground.

Slugs….

March sees the return of the gardeners arch enemy the humble garden slug. It is time to stop these beasties in their tracks.

Your local garden centre will retail many different styles of slug trap. However, you can create traps yourself any deep vessel filled with beer will be irresistible for slugs merely push the container into the soil and let the allure of the beer do the dirty work.

Slugs hate copper if a slug infestation reaches epidemic proportions, copper tapes can be purchased from garden centres these serve to create a barrier around the plant.

If you are still experiencing problems with these persistent critters, it could be time for a moonlight raid, arm yourself with a torch and bowl of hot salty water, we shall leave the rest to your imagination.

With the Winter almost behind us and temperatures rising the garden starts to show the first signs of life many buds are now forming on the trees and snowdrops are in full bloom.

Now is the time to get the gloves and boots on and set about giving your garden the best possible start to the year, solid preparation in February will ensure your garden launches into spring in the best possible condition.

Dust off the Secateurs

You still have time prune the deciduous hedges in your garden some hardy evergreens can also be pruned providing the risk of frost has passed.

Fruit trees such as apple and pears should also be pruned along with any cane fruits including raspberries and blackberries.

The borders of your garden need some particular attention this time of year if you haven’t already done so cut back the dead from herbaceous plants.

Preparation is key

Borders also need weeding and digging through with a good quality manure or compost to improve drainage and enrich the soil.

Bare root fruit trees can be planted along with bare root hedging. If you are growing vegetables this year now is the time to dig through vegetable beds with organic matter.

Should you wish to bring a new lease of life to Herbaceous plants that have grown too large, they can be divided this will rejuvenate the plant and increase its flowering, again should you choose to divide at this time of year try to ensure you do this when the risk of frost has passed.

With it being cold outside many gardeners fall into the trap of thinking there is little to do in the garden, however, whether an avid or amateur gardener there is plenty to be getting on with, so without further ado it’s time to dust off those tools.

First things first! Carry out a spot check of your garden look for any damage caused by high winds or weathering this could include checking the stability of any posts, supports, or plant ties.

Make the most of the fresh start

The fresh start January brings is a perfect time to plan your activities for the upcoming year this may include deciding upon and ordering new seeds and plants.

Now is the ideal time to contemplate changes to the design and layout of your garden, for example, new borders this action allows you to factor in and allocate time to achieving your plans.

Protect the ecosystem of your garden if you can avoid it hold off cutting back any overgrown areas of the garden as they provide much-needed sanctuary for wildlife.

Don’t forget the birds! Frost is always a factor in January making grubs insects and other natural food difficult to come by, fat balls are perfect at this time of year giving birds some extra energy.